Silence, Journey into Darkness
by Mother Ammy
Summary: It has been four years since Tsuki met Kurama. Now, the Urameshi team has another case - this one with much more on the line. Pain, hurt, chaos and loss. They are to find a creature that was long thought to no longer exist, at what cost? Will they be able to do it within such a small time limit? Only one way to find out. KuramaxTsuki, HieixKatline, M for blood/suggestive themes


Warning: This story may contain writings not suitable for children – or immature adults. It is written simply as a work of fanfiction and has nothing to do with the actual story written by Yoshihiro Togashi. I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, only the fan made ones that are written into the story (Ex. Tsuki, Katline, etc.)

This is also the SEQUEL to "A Helping Hand", please read that one first!

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Silence.

There was nothing more than the roar of a blizzard echoing through the snow cavern. Darkness melted even the tiniest bit of light into nothing, while the cold seemed to freeze time itself. Crunching soon broke through the sound barrier, footsteps through the snow. Giant shadowed figures raced forward towards the entrance of the cavern. Outside, moonlight seemed to peak out from behind the snowy furry. Four long limbs trampled the snow, leaving behind a red trail in the white blanket. A large black furred creature held it's head back, crystal blue eyes looked desperately for cover and safety. Within it's jaws hung a small furry white ball; short limbs barely visible. The larger creature resembled a wolf, as did the smaller one a pup; it's eyes not yet opened. The larger male easily being almost 6 meters tall from paw to shoulder; the pup was no bigger than four feet long. The large wolf was covered in blood, and was growing weaker with each step.

However catching up to him were large demons, riding the backs of even larger, polar bear-like creatures, shooting arrows and casting fire balls. The wolf tried to run faster, but couldn't. With his energy spent, even his powers were useless; and fleeing was the only choice. A lone arrow stopped him however, piercing completely through his shoulder. The wolf crashed into the snow as the pup was thrown from his mouth. Many of the demons raced faster, some to pin the wolf down farther, and one to fetch the pup. "We have what we need!" he yelled, picking up the wiggling, crying pup into a sack. "Leave the beast, it shall die from the starvation or become a feast for scavengers due to it's shoulder. No need to waist our precious time nay our energy on it's useless life." The cloaked figure stated, as the blue eyed wolf looked to the sack helplessly. As the group of thieves raced away, the wolf forced it's head up, emitting a long, painful howl into the dark blizzard; dropping his head back to the snow, and closing his eyes stiffly.

'_We will meet again… I will find you. My precious child…'_

Over fifty millennia later…

The morning sun peeked over the horizon, brightly shining into the windows of homes across the land. In particular one was a small apartment; there was nothing special about it. Just a single bedroom apartment, a single bathroom, and with a simple layout; under a set of covers however, a small red haired girl peaked her blue eyes out towards the window. The simple tan curtains allowed a thin ray of light to shine onto the pillows. The girl groaned, turning over and tucking back under the covers. Warmth… so much warmth, her blue eyes closed in delight as she nuzzled into another body. Strong arms wrapped around her, embracing her tightly. Red locks met red locks, and a pair of green eyes slowly opened. "Tsuki…" the man breathed, nuzzling the top of the female's head. She smiled, curling her head upward to reopen her eyes. "Nyaa…" was the only sound to emit from her mouth as she yawned. Two soft, black cat ears wiggled lightly as she looked at him with a sleepy smile. The man smiled, it was Kurama and within his arms grasps was Tsuki. It had to have been four years since they met, and over the years so much had happened. No longer in his mother's home, Kurama and Tsuki had gotten their own apartment. Plants littered the entire apartment, between Kurama's plant manipulation and Tsuki's earth manipulation there was no question about why there were so many.

Kurama released Tsuki, stretching and scratching the back of his neck. "Time to get up, Tsuki." He stated quietly as he pushed himself from the soft bed. Climbing from the ground in only a pair of green pants, Kurama walked out of the room for his usual routine. Tsuki groaned, but followed soon after as she shifted the button up and oversized white shirt she adorned to fit better. Her messy red hair looking more like a fuzz ball than anything; Tsuki followed Kurama to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Her blue eyes lazily staring in the mirror as she did. Kurama looked to her, chuckling softly as he dried his face off. After all these years, he didn't know what to refer to her as; girlfriend maybe? But at the same time, he wasn't sure where he stood with her. It was something to consider though.

A few hours later of cleaning themselves up and eating breakfast, the two headed out to find Katline and Hiei; Koenma had given them a head's up that he wanted to speak with the group. The pair was easy to find; taking a rest in the park closest to Yusuke's apartment. Tsuki took no heed to running up the tree and knocking Katline from one branch – followed with Hiei jumping down by Kurama. The sisters wiggled on the ground as Tsuki attempted to chew and pin Katline playfully. "Good morning dear sister! Is it not a wonderful day?" The red haired feline cooed, pulling her sister to her feet in a hug. Katline raised a brow, snorting as she pulled away. "Tsuki, you are completely aware that I prefer the night over the day." The tiny woman said, freeing herself of her sister's hug. "Let's just get this done with." Katline said, leading towards Yusuke's apartment.

As the group of four walked up the stairs to the apartment, Kurama allowed himself to wonder how Keiko was doing. Yusuke and her had been married only a little over a year when a single drunken night led to the small brunette girl becoming pregnant. That had been about seven months ago. Without even needing to take a second thought, Keiko opened the door to the knocking red haired pair. "Ah! You're here, good! Tsuki can you help me get Kuwabara up? He fell asleep last night and won't wake up…" the tiny brunette asked as Tsuki nuzzled at the rounded belly softly. "Of course, Keiko! Tsuki will not mind at all!" the feline cooed as she bounced passed the round-bellied woman. The last three walking in as Keiko welcomed them. Upon the couch, Kuwabara took up the space as he laid in deep sleep.

Tsuki crouched down at the foot of the couch, her ears flattened as she targeted her 'prey'. With a mighty leap, the red head landed butt first on Kuwabara's chest; squeaking in delight. Kuwabara sat up with a yell of surprise, his arms flailing until he came to the realization of just who was on him. "Gah! Tsuki don't do that to me! I'm gonna have a heart attack!" he stated still in shock. Tsuki lowered her ears, her blue eyes welling up. "B-but! Keiko, said to wake you up! We are all here to talk about the mission!" she muttered, Kurama didn't worry too much. Tsuki had Kuwabara wrapped around a pinky finger. The carrot topped male held his hands up for a moment, before reaching over to rub her small ears. "I-I'm sorry Tsuki! It's my fault for sleeping in, I'm not mad! I promise!" he nervously smiled, causing the adorable girl to nod lightly. Keiko simply chuckled watching the two, Yusuke walked out only moments later; jeans and a white tee barely on with a brush in hand. "What's all the commotion?" he asked before noticing Kuwabara's barely woken up state. "Kuwabara, you lazy ass! You're just now up?" he barked out, running the brush through his freshly washed hair. "Hello to you too, Yusuke." Kurama piped, chuckling warmly as he took a seat; Hiei and Katline following after. Yusuke grinned, "Oops, sorry guys I didn't see you there." He said, straightening his shirt and pants. Tsuki climbed off Kuwabara, running to Kurama to regain her throne on his lap. "Give me five minutes ok?" Yusuke said before jogging back to the bathroom as Keiko left to prepare some coffee.

Minutes later, the group was at last seated together in the main room. "So Yusuke, what is Koenma asking of this time. He only told me it was of great importance." Kurama asked, watching as the brunette detective fiddled with some files. "Well Kurama, there's this place called Kokushibyou. Koenma says it's one of the few underground fighting rings left; when they sent an undercover agent there to see just how dangerous it was compared to previous ones, they found many humans there forced to fight and die. Highly illegal to begin with, however…" he continued on before pulling out a chart of demonic energy. "Is this correct?" Kurama asked, receiving a nod from Yusuke. The chart was built similar to read energy readings and the one to read an earthquake. It read evenly about half way down the chart, before suddenly the lines were easily shooting off the paper; tearing the paper as it did. "Yusuke, wouldn't this be from all the demons running around though? Why would this be a big deal?" Kuwabara asked, scratching the side of his head. Yusuke shook his head, "This part was recorded in a secluded area. It was also locked and guarded. Koenma suspects either specialty bred demons, or a species that hasn't been proven to still exist in thousands of years." Yusuke said before sitting back on the couch. Crossing his arms, the detective looked to Keiko. "Yusuke, this is interesting indeed, but what else is he asking of us? This seems like it wouldn't be quick to finish." Kurama muttered.

Yusuke sighed deeply, "Koenma is asking us to live there for four months…" The feel fell heavy and quiet. The men looked to Yusuke's irritated face. "I told him it couldn't be for that long… I begged him for two months and then a break. He said no." Keiko moved closer, placing a hand on his knee. "It'll be ok Yusuke, you need to do this." She said softly. Yusuke closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I can't go… there's no way I can leave you here-" "Yusuke you have to do this! I'll be ok! I can go stay with my parents!" Keiko called, Yusuke stood up. "For what? For your parents to this I'd rather work than be with my wife while she gives birth to my first child!" he barked, throwing his arms up in protest. "I have to tell Koenma that I'm not going! For him to want us to drag it out to four months or longer is total bullshit!" the detective yelled out before Kuwabara stood up. "Yusuke! It may be bullshit, complete bullshit, but we have to do this! It's our job!" he said, grabbing onto his old friend's shoulder firmly. "I know you want to be there with Keiko, we all do! Forget what Koenma said, forget the four months – we can do this in two months! Even if we have to push for three, we can do this before your baby is born!" he said.

Yusuke fell silent, staring at Kuwabara. "Are you sure we can do this in only two months?" he asked quietly. Kuwabara grinned, nodding firmly. "Yeah, we can do it! Kurama and Hiei will certainly help us! Right guys?" the carrot-topped man looked to Kurama and Hiei; Kurama smiled before nodding. "We can do this, Yusuke." He said as Hiei scoffed. "Even Hiei thinks so." Kurama assured. Yusuke was stiff for a minute, before pulling Kuwabara into a tight hug. "Thank you… thank you all…" he said, before pulling away and holding his arm over his eyes. The tension of the room seemed to ease up.

Kurama smiled, his arm curling around Tsuki tightly. He couldn't imagine leaving Tsuki in a condition like that. "Yusuke, I must ask, why did he want us to stay so long to begin with?" Kurama asked. The brunette crossed his arms, sitting down once more next to Keiko. "Well, he wants us to blend in as 'Owners'. Apparently, most of these creatures that are brought in are sold to rich assholes who big on who will… survive. Some are human, some aren't. But he wants us to actually build up into purchasing the creature that was detected." He explained. "Tsuki and Katline would be staying here while Kurama and I would be undercover. Kuwabara and Hiei… you would actually be in the cells where the fighters are kept. Cleaning after them, and watching for anything suspicious." Hiei looked up with bitterness and anger clear on his face. "What? Why should I be degraded to a mere stable boy? I can understand the baboon with how little intelligence he has but why me?" the short man barked out, before glaring to the snickering Katline. Kuwabara stood up swiftly, fist gripped tightly. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean? I'm not happy about being stuck cleaning gross cells that probably are little with shit and piss for two months with you!" the tall detective said, Yusuke shook his head. "Look guys, let's just get ready to leave and get things set up." He spoke, running a hand through Keiko's hair.

Tsuki blinked, standing from Kurama's lap and unlatching from him. "Yusuke, what about Tsuki and Katline?" she asked, holding her hands behind her back. Katline looked over, blinking lightly. "Good point; you didn't say either of our names. What're we supposed to do, sit around and twiddle our thumbs?" the small feline said. Kurama picked up the files, going through them quickly with Yusuke. "Tsuki, you should stay here. Koenma never did make you an actual detective. I cannot imagine what I would do if something happened to you…" Kurama said, pulling Tsuki back over to hold her tightly. Yusuke looked up, nodding in agreement. "Tsuki, we need you and Katline here anyways. Keiko needs protection, and help around the apartment. You'll be doing more here than there." He said. Katline stood, walking to her sister before turning her around. "Tsuki, trust me, Keiko will need lots of help. I remember helping mama and papa when they were preparing for your birth – it wasn't easy and no one should do that alone." She said, ruffling her sister's hair.

Kurama looked to the floor; again he was to leave for an extended time. But this time he not only had to leave his mother, but for the first time it was far too dangerous for Tsuki to go with them. Even with training a place like that… he didn't want to think of what could have happened. Kurama looked to the date on the folder as Tsuki and Keiko made sleeping arrangements – as well as shopping plans from what he could hear, much to Katline's dismay. They would be leaving in only a week…

That week came much quicker than anyone was looking forward to, and before they knew it the original spirit detectives were on their way into the spirit world to the deep underground tunnels. Under Koenma's orders they were under false identities until the mission was complete. Yusuke was Mr Alvice Batista, a weapon salesman from Osaka. Only a sister and hair colored brown, but supposed to have an addiction to gambling. Kurama was Mr Hector Rodriguez, a businessman from Tokyo. Widowed and left only with his small shops, he was to be good friends with 'Alvice' even to follow and join in his betting. His hair was even colored so he was a brunette – as much as he disliked it. Hiei was simply called Leagult, wanted by many bounty hunters and looking for a place to hide. While he was covered from head to toe in nothing but bandages and ninja-wear; besides his face. Kuwabara was Taiyo Mastumaru, his hair colored blond and said to lose a bid so badly, he could only pay it off by working in the cells.

As the train slowed and pulled to a stop, the group and many others pushed forward through the deep caverns each one with a single large bag in tow; stopping only at a massive cliff that seemed swallowed by darkness. It was quiet besides the few murmurs of those who commonly knew each other. A loud gong rang three times, before a golden shine floated down from darkness above them. A tall and thin woman hovered just feet above the group. Curly golden hair shimmered, matching golden eyes clashed with her tanned skin and large gold faded into white wings sprouted from her hips – flapping gracefully to keep afloat. "Ah! Men, women and demons alike! Welcome to my humble abode~" she called out, dressed in nothing more than a white thong and white torso wrap. "To those unfamiliar to me I am Mimi. I run this fine establishment and I welcome you all! I'll remind you all however to have your id and passports ready or you may not come in." the woman named Mimi lowered to the edge of the cliff. With the flick of her wrist, many more harpies – most also barely dressed, floated down and motioned for a line.

The Urameshi group took their separate ways, blending into the mass, offering their passports and id as they reached the front of the line. Each accepted demon and human simply walked over the empty pit, little green disks appearing just before they stepped – all those who had been denied were simply thrown into the bottomless pit. The four men stood strong while handing the papers to the harpies. Kuwabara being the most obvious to the nervousness, and Hiei hoping that it would make the 'giant baboon' get thrown off the cliff. This was not the case however and the group pushed forward, trekking through the darkening path for what seemed like hours. No other land or cliffs in sight, the only sign of life beyond those around them was the occasional roar of a far-away beast. Hiei kept a close watch on their surroundings with his Jagan Eye however, but alas even he could not see past the one gold harpy leading them through this forgotten zone. Slowly, something in the distance began to appear on the horizon. It seemed like only a tiny blue light at first, but as the massive group approached it there was a sight of a mighty building. The design was very close to that of the stadium of the Dark Tournament; however to the sides it had two half-sized buildings connected to it by nothing but a few small bridges.

The harpy lowered herself to the side of the cliff once more, where ten others joined her each with a large box in hand. Mimi pulled out what looked like glow-stick necklaces – only with a much bigger connector. "Alright everyone if you have been here before you'll recognize these. For all those who do not, these are called 'Dimmers'. These are a long used term of security that will dim your demonic energies down that of a low class demon. I know not everyone is happy about that but it is for security. We don't need to have the building destroyed – for a fifth time…" she said, growling bitterly to the end of her sentence. This was a serious surprise for the Urameshi team, and become a rather large road block if they could not find a way around it later. Kuwabara was the first to get the collar, it was cracked three times and began to glow neon orange. Hiei was next with green, Kurama with a red and ending in Yusuke's blue. There were many different colors, and each one could feel a heavy physical block almost instantly the piece was placed on.

"Alright everyone, now we'll be splitting up into two! Everyone here for some fun and gore – come with me! Everyone who is here for work will be going with Rere!" she called, motioning to a more voluptuous harpy who fluttered next to Mimi in a simple belly-dancer outfit. While Mimi was golden colored however, Rere was a light tan into brown. She waved lightly at the group before leading to the left. "Alright my little darlings, if you are here to work, come with me!" she called, leaning next to a large pair of stone doors; Mimi moved to lead to a larger pair of gem-incrusted stone doors. The two groups split, each going their respective ways.

Hiei and Kuwabara followed Rere down a downward tunnel with many others also in tow behind her. The woman led through the various tunnels, explaining how to navigate through them. Eventually bringing them through the galley and into the rest quarters, this turned out to be nothing more than cots lined up into rows on each side of the long room. Each one had a small trunk at the end of the cots for personal belongings. Rere smiled, "Alright everyone, now make yourself comfortable. While you are able to watch and bet on the fights, I'm going to recommend that you don't until your daily work is done –else you want to get your ass kicked by Mimi." She said with a soft giggle. Hiei simply dropped himself onto the pointless cot, taking this time to close his eyes. His Jagan eye was the only thing left he could use – even that was only to a point. Kuwabara looked around as he placed his bag in the trunk. "This place is a dump." He muttered, pulling his newly blonde hair back and under a headband. "Why did it have to be blonde hair?" Hiei snickered a bit, happy – if it could be called that - to see Kuwabara in such misery.

Kuwabara groaned, "We should go see where we're gonna be working. Maybe take a look around…" he said before standing. "I'm going with or without you." He barked, before stomping out the large room. The tall man followed the hall back down where Rere had pointed the direction they would be working in. As Kuwabara walked in, he shuttered in disgust. The smell of rotting blood, bodies and only God knew what else hit his nose even from around the first corner. He covered his nose, before looking closer; each cell looked more like an animal cage. While the tops and front were made of large and heavy bars, the sides were of a solid stone mined straight from the demon world. All the creatures were chained and held by some sort of collar and tie. Different holds for each one that would also dim their power, just like the collars for the Urameshi team.

Kuwabara looked at each dirty and miserable looking creature, most of which snapped at or tried to attack him. The currently blond man leaned towards one of the cages, seeing a small girl holding onto the bars. Her large pink eyes welled up, clashing against her blue curls. A pair of tiny cat ears gently folded against her head. "Mister… pleash feed me… I'm sho hungry…" she cried. Kuwabara blinked, before looking around. "Uh.. uh… oh!" he reached in his pocket, pulling out a granola bar. "Here, it's all I got right now. Maybe I can find some more later?" he said walking towards the cell. The little girl smiled brightly, reaching out for the offered food. Before she could grab it however a pole smacked the food out from Kuwabara's hand and into a hole in the floor. They looked to the side, an old man stood there with a bitter look on his face. Hair and beard white, and the one good eye he had was green. "I would highly suggest you don't do that, not unless you're looking to become a meal yourself." His deep voice groaned out, the broom pole was smacked against the cage loudly.

The little girl's eyes widened and turned red as she hissed, a smoke cloud raised as the little girl became a tall and thin figure. Solid dark blue, with only a single pink eye and no lips, it's bladed teeth clear in view. "That there is an illusion. His name is Noe." The old man sneered, "You must be new. I am Carnal, and I'm the lead here in the cells. First rule of thumb here is don't feed anything unless specifically stated; rule number two is don't walk around with food on you." He said, limping past the stunned boy. Kuwabara clamored to his feet before following Carnal down the row of cells. "I'm K- Matsumaru, Taiyo Matsumaru! I've just arrived an hour ago. What is all this?" he asked. The old man stopped and looked back. "Hmm… First time down from the bet boxes eh? This is where the beasts are held, well… the ones that survive." Carnal said retrieving the hose he had dropped when he went to correct Kuwabara. He aimed the water into the front of the cages, the water landing in the bowls. More creatures snarled and swiped at them, but Carnal wasn't phased in the least.

Kuwabara swallowed a lump forming in his throat, "So what do you mean by the ones that survive?" he asked, Carnal stopped to look back. "You don't know? The loosing opponent is eaten by the winner. That's the reason for rule number one… I thought you were one of the ones that are working down here to pay off your debt…" he muttered. Kuwabara laughed nervously, "W-well, I uh, I never actually watched the fights. I was uh…" he started. Carnal snorted, "Ah, I see. You used a third party." He said. Kuwabara blinked. "Ah, yes! Yes I did!" "Dumb fucktard." The Carnal barked, rendering Kuwabara speechless. "Never use a third party! No wonder you're working down here." he barked out. Kuwabara looked down, "Well, I'm down here regardless of what I could or couldn't have done. I'll just work it all off!" he said proudly, placing his fist on his chest. Carnal stared at him for a moment, before nodding. "Come back tomorrow morning. You'll be working with me personally." He said, before leaving Kuwabara there to stand there shocked.

Yusuke and Kurama however, were lead down a marvelous hallway. Polished stone decorated the walls and floors, red carpet lead through the silent halls. There were already several people there, dressed very nicely. Statues of various demons adorned the sides of the halls and chandeliers were hung from the unbelievably high ceilings. Mimi twirled around after pushing two more large doors open. Here, many doors adorned the walls; each with a stand just outside the door – a few holding shoes that were either waiting or already polished. While this didn't faze Kurama too much, Yusuke was shocked at how beautiful it was. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, here are your rooms. There are more on the next floor if need be, however there should be plenty here. Each one has two beds if you decide you wish to share a room, it's not uncommon." She cooed. Kurama gazed to Yusuke, who nodded in response. The two entered the room – correction, the large apartment. It was easily two thousand square feet, each with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large kitchen – the works. On the coffee table were menus, maps and service listings such as in-room massages and newspaper/food deliveries.

"Wow, this place has everything. It's basically a paradise! No wonder so many people come here…" Yusuke muttered, dropping his suitcase by the sofa. Kurama looked back to his friend as he walked towards his room. "I would agree it is very luxurious." The long haired male stated before returning to walk to his room. He placed his suitcase next to the bed, before sitting down quietly. Despite the fact that their mission had only begun, Kurama was already worried about Tsuki. Yusuke walked in, finding Kurama pulling out a picture from the front of his bag. The still young detective placed his hands into his pockets, "You're worried too. At least we have the communicator." He said, pulling out his small yellow communicator – the same one he's had for so long. Kurama stared at the picture of his mother and Tsuki, both just sitting together as his mother read a book to her. "Yes, though I do not want to use it unless it's absolutely necessary. I wouldn't want anyone to get suspicious of the signal if anything starts to go aria." The wise fox said, placing the photo back to the suitcase.

Yusuke became silent for a moment, sitting slowly on the bed next to Kurama. "Hey… do you really think we can finish this mission before Keiko goes into labor?" he asked, worry clear in his voice. Kurama looked up, giving a reassuring smile to his old friend. "Well while it will be tough, I'm sure we can." He said, placing a hand on Yusuke's shoulder. "If we don't however, I'm sure Tsuki and Katline will take very good care of Keiko and the baby." Yusuke looked up, smiling meekly. He placed a hand on his knee, "I guess you're right. At least they'll be safe." The short haired brunette said before looking to Kurama. "Hey, did I tell you what we're having?" Yusuke asked, Kurama smiled before shaking his head. "Matter of fact, you haven't." he replied, Yusuke grinned widely. "Well… I haven't told Kuwabara yet, but Keiko and I are having…" Yusuke paused, before jumping up and walking out laughing to himself. Kurama raised an eyebrow before following, a chuckle emitted from his throat. "Oh is that how you are going to play now? Come on Yusuke, do tell. Will you have a son or a daughter? At least tell me which one you would like." The long haired male said with a smile, Yusuke laughed. "Well considering the baby will be a quarter demon, I'm just hoping it can look human enough to live a slightly normal life." Yusuke said, Kurama and his mind both finally free from the grips of worry – for now.

* * *

Hey everybody I'm back! This took way too long to get but that's due to… well allot of bullshit going on. However I'm excited to say that here is chapter one of Silence, Journey into Darkness. I have NOT decided the sex of the baby and it may come to what you, the reviewers, want. There will be fluff and this one will be more mature than my last one.

EDIT: Oops, sorry guys. I originally put lemon, I forgot that meant something different! Many apologies! Don't worry, no lemons!

Love you guys!

Ammy

SHOUT OUTS:

Michael O-nii-chan – THANKS FOR ALWAYS BEING THERE FOR ME! LOVE YA BIG BRO!

Michael Count Nightmare – I love you baby and thanks for the inspiration! As well of use of your characters as disguises for he group!

Death101-Fox Version – Thanks for following me for so long and waiting so patiently!


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